Yuyado Kuroyuri, Hakusan Chugu Onsen

Yuyado Kuroyuri is a traditional hot-spring cure inn at an elevation of about 660 meters on the northern foot of the sacred Mount Hakusan, in Chugu, Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Chugu Onsen is said to have been discovered more than 1,200 years ago by the monk Taicho Daishi, who opened Mount Hakusan to pilgrims after being led to the spring by an injured white dove. The first bathhouse was built in 1574, and the area was designated a National Health Resort Hot Spring in 1961. Long known as a sacred spring for stomach and intestinal ailments, the hamlet today has only two inns.

The water is a sodium chloride and bicarbonate spring, hypotonic, neutral and hot. The source emerges naturally at 63.2C with a pH of 6.8 and a flow of about 130 liters per minute. No pump, no heating, no added water and no recirculation are used, so the baths are supplied with 100 percent free-flowing source water, delivered to the tubs at 50 to 52C. The slightly viscous water is licensed for drinking and is said to help with gastrointestinal complaints, neuralgia and women's ailments.

There are two large indoor baths, separated by gender, and no open-air bath. The interior blends Taisho-era modernism with the austerity of a Zen meditation hall, and a post-bath salon is provided. Meals feature steamed and simmered dishes cooked with the hot-spring water alongside mountain produce from the region. Day-trip bathing costs 700 yen for adults, 400 yen for children and 200 yen for infants, from 11:00 to 16:00; overnight stays start at 12,200 yen with two meals. Because of heavy snowfall, the inn operates seasonally from late April to late November. Note that a slope collapse on the Hakusan-Shirakawago White Road has left the inn closed, and no operations are planned for the 2026 season, so the latest operating status should be checked before planning a visit.